Skeleton Twins (MA)
Directed by Craig Johnson
Failed actor Milo (Bill Hader) has just broken up from his boyfriend. After throwing their framed photo into the goldfish tank, he does something very silly. At exactly the same time his twin sister Maggie (Kristen Wiig) is standing in front of the mirror contemplating taking a handful of pills. The phone call informing her that her brother is in hospital has her running to be at his side after not seeing him for a decade. Maggie takes Milo back to the home she shares with husband Lance (Luke Wilson) and Milo tries to resume contact with his former English teacher Rich (Ty Burrell). Tears of laughter mix with tears of tragedy in this memorable dramedy. Both emotionally stunted twins are disappointed by the way their lives have turned out but give each other the strength to move on with their lives. Their lip-synced song “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” will linger.
Son of a Gun (MA)
Directed by Julius Avery
Uniquely Australian locations are the backdrop to this deadly thriller. Locked up for a minor crime, 19 year old JR (Brenton Thwaites) has to form an alliance with hard-core criminal Brendan Lynch (Ewan McGregor) in order to survive his short incarceration. When released, JR then has to break Brendan and his equally notorious friends out of the prison. Carrying around his montage of his dream lifestyle, JR finds himself with the fast cars, the expensive real estate and the beautiful young women. One young Russian woman (Alicia Vikander) is particularly alluring but Brendan warns him not to risk everything for a ‘piece of skirt’. When another heist is planned, things start to go wrong and there is a limited amount of outcomes when you go around killing people. The central motif of the film is a game of chess so the edge-of-your-seat plot twists are as cerebral as they are violent.
Check out our interview with director Juius Avery here.
The Little Death (MA)
Directed by Josh Lawson
The French call it ‘la petite mort’ … that fleeting moment of sexual ecstasy. This comedy explores the sex lives of five couples living in the same neighbourhood, using the cream of Australian talent. It centres on the unusual fetishes that heighten that moment for some people and, apart from being educational, the situations are absolutely hilarious. While someone new to the neighbourhood is going around introducing himself, there’s a woman with a dangerous fantasy, a woman who finds pleasure in her husband’s pain, a man who loves to watch his wife sleep, a couple who are heavily into role-play and a call centre operator having to translate phone sex for a deaf/mute man. I tried to tell someone about one of the situations in this film, and the tears of laughter stopped me. This brilliantly unconventional rom-com explores normality, relationships, love, deceit and morals (all in inverted commas).
Advanced Style (PG)
Directed by Lina Plioplyte
Ari Seth Cohen goes around the streets of New York, photographing beautifully dressed women. Counting his grandmothers as his best friends, Ari only photographs women over the age of 60 years. In a society which seems to be increasing obsessed with youth, his images challenge the concept of beauty. His blog was such a success, he published a book and this was so successful that there’s now a documentary. Ari captures images of women who feel good about themselves after society’s usual use-by date. These senior sirens are independent and stylish and challenge concepts of aging. His documentary centres on seven eclectic women whose spirits are ageless and don’t just want to look good – they want to look great. They talk positively about aging and they are truly inspirational. Ari and his divas have even influenced marketing campaigns (such as Kmart) to include older women.
Lezly Herbert
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